2016 has been an amazing year for me both professionally and personally. I've done more than I ever thought possible and have achieved things that I've worked towards for years. So in no particular order these are my highlights of 2016. I've also listed the goals I set myself at the beginning of the year below to give an update on how they've gone. I love doing this every year as it gives me focus for the year ahead. I never achieve all of them, but I think this is the closest I've ever got to a complete list. And of course, I'll be setting one for 2017 to see where it leads me.

My first two novels were published.

Waiting for You hit the top 100 Kindle books.

Waiting for You shortlisted for the Joan Hessayon Award.

Successfully potty trained two toddlers.

I signed with an agent - Hattie Grunewald.

Graduated from the terrible twos to the threenage years and survived.

Got to the point I'm earning as much as my job pre-babies.

Lose 2-3 stone - I have been going to Slimming World all year and my chart looks like an ECG. I need to concentrate on getting a downward trend this year! - I got to a stone and 6lbs loss. It's better than it was, but still needs work. But I've carried on going and will continueto do so!

Create more 'me' time. Sort out the doctors/dentist appointments I've been putting off - I've done reasonable well on this give how hectic my life is. I've been on two spa days. I've had mulitple cups of tea at the right temperature. I didn't make it the dentist. You can't win at everything.

Exercise more. I haven't found time for anything regularly since the twins were born - Like I said - you can't win at everything!

Read 15 books (Didn't manage 20 last year unless you count reading my book at least 10 times!) - Can't remember what my final number was, but it's roughly 15. Not many compared to pre-children and writing takes priorities these day.

Writing:

Finish Book Two (currently unnamed) for Carina UK - This ended up being All That is Left of Us and was released in September. It's received some amazing reviews and I hope it continues to do well in 2017.

Enjoy seeing both of these books published and enjoy the ride it'll take me on - It has been tremendous and both books are doing so much better than I ever could have imagined - long may it continue!

Plan Book Three - There are no less than FOUR books that I've been working on in some form or another. Keep an eye out in 2017 for more news on them.

Update my website - www.katylittlelady.com

Plan a book launch for Waiting for You - This went really well with nearly 70 people attending and raising over £300 for the local community farm.

Family:

Potty train the twins! - Done!

Embrace the fact they are growing up and wave goodbye to cot sides and high chairs. - Done!

Continue enjoying lots of family adventures - They grow up way too quickly and I've loved being able to take them out as often as possible.

House:

Get new front and back doors fitted - Done!

Get new boiler and radiators fitted - Done!

Redecorate the areas where it's needed - Done!

Tidy every surface in the house - I think this happened although there is absolutely no evidence of the fact now.

Declutter - I've sent many bags to the charity shops and yet there still seems to be no extra space in the house!

Competitions:

This year I'm going to attempt to win:

A family day out - I won a voucher to the IOW Zoo and a £50 ferry voucher so we made use of those and had a long weekend away.

A holiday - I was lucky enough to win a three-night break in a lodge with a hot tub and I ended up having it as a writing retreat! It was fab and I got 10K words written.

Soft drink/alcohol/food for book launch - I really got lucky with this. A friend supplied a case, I won a case plus some others and they all went in a raffle raising money for the community farm.

Saturday, December 31, 2016

* That there is no room for housework in the realms of attempting to be awesome.* That sometimes to be a good writer, you have to be an average parent.* That sometimes to be be a good parent, you have to an awful writer.* That both are fine.* That true friends and family will be there for you even when you're a crapper-than-average disorganised friend/relative.* That all the important things will work out somehow.* That anyone wanting to become your best friend instantly, might potentially be a psycho.* That being happy is important. And being able to share that with others is a gift.* That if more than one person seems to think you possess talent, it's very possible that you do and should start believing it.* That hard work does pay off.* That being a mum to twins does make you superhuman.* That remembering despite superhuman skills, there are days when you are just human.* That it's okay to admit defeat.* That the most delightful sound is the laughter of your own children.* That the most challenging sound is the persistent crying/moans of your own children.* That both sounds are fleeting.* That no matter what is happening in the world around you, it's important to find your own peace. To love yourself. To not be defined by anything other than what you choose to be defined by.* That it's important to look at the stars. To taste the rain. To smell the frost. * That life should not be defined by the year you are in, but the day you are embracing.

Friday, November 4, 2016

I should probably mention here that my second beauty of a book is out! It deals with the aftermath of surrogacy within a family. Here's the blurb...

One of My Own…

Dawn loves being a mother. No matter how Archie came into her life, or the fact he's a little different from other children, he is precious and loved. He is hers, after all. Especially because she’s never told anyone who the father of her son is.

So when Dawn’s twin brother David and his wife Rebekah are struggling to have their own child, Dawn agrees to become their surrogate, as it is the one thing she can do to help.

However, creating the perfect family doesn’t always go to plan and when Dawn realises just how much her nephew needs his mother, she begins to wonder if the time has finally come to confront the past she has kept secret for so long.

Monday, June 13, 2016

Happy June everyone! Half way through the year and I'd say I'm doing pretty well with keeping on top of my goals for the year. How is the first half of 2016 shaping up for you?

My poor blog has been neglected this year in favour of novel writing! My second novel, All That Is Left Of Us, is now complete and I'm just waiting for the copyedits before it'll be ready to go out to early readers. It's mad because this has been a proper rollercoaster ride. In fact Timehop on Facebook tells me it was exactly a year ago today that I sent Waiting for You (at that point it was called Baby Number Two) out on submission. I would never believed I was capable of what I've managed in such a short space of time. All That Is Left Of Us has only been read by my editor so far so I'll be tortured by nerves when it goes out into the world, but I love the story and can't wait to see how it is received.

This month has also been special because Waiting for You has been selected to be part of the Kindle Monthly deal and is on offer at 99p. It's seen it rise in the charts and it's been fantastic to see in the top 20 for holiday reads and romance literary fiction. Click on the picture if you want to get a hold of the book at that bargain price.

After copyedits, I have the twins 3rd (THREE, already!) birthday to celebrate followed by the RNA conference. Then there's the question of starting the next book. Okay, I admit, it's already started, I just need to plan it out fully and make it the best one yet.

My Website (Work examples, diary & more...)

About Me

Ever since I can remember I have written as a hobby. This blog is about me trying to turn writing into something more than a hobby.
Born in Margate, Kent in 1981 I left home to train as a physiotherapist in London. After qualifying in 2002 I moved to Southampton and worked for the next 6 years in the NHS. Shortly after qualifying I was diagnosed with Sarcoidosis following several years with an eye condition. Gradually with a combination of my illness and the side effects of many medications I opted to leave the NHS to safeguard my future health. I now work part-time in a Shopmobility and have been concentrating on improving my health. Now my health is improving I am spending more time concentrating on my writing. This blog will outline the projects I am getting on with, how I get on, any competitions I plan to enter them into and anything else that may be of interest.